Can you believe this is the last week of October? It seems like it was just January yesterday!
Not long ago, someone asked where I get my ideas for characters, so I thought I’d take a stab at sharing that.
I probably shouldn’t admit it, but a lot of my characters come from real life. None of them are exact duplicates of real people, but they are inspired by them. In some cases, I have combined traits from several folks I’ve met; in others, I just take someone’s real traits and exaggerate them. I also have characters that come to me all on their own, nearly fully developed, but even they end up with a few “add ons” from people around me.
And, sometimes, I have to pull back on those personalities, instead of exaggerating them. There are several characters who are calmer, gentler versions of their inspiration, because you’d never believe in them if I described them as they really are!
Small-town South Texas offers a wealth of material, when it comes to personalities, because you know what they say – everything’s bigger in Texas!